Networking and computer equipment, such as switches, gateways, routers, bridges, servers, multilayer switches, firewalls, controllers, optical equipment, and the like, is deployed in various locations, such as Central Offices (CO), Data Centers, and the like, in rack-mounted physical configurations. That is, physical chassis are fixedly mounted in racks, frames, cabinets, etc. (collectively referred to herein as “rack” or “racks”). Installation can require more than one installation personnel. Specifically, physically mounting a chassis to a rack requires one person to hold the chassis while the other performs the mounting. In the past, chassis were much larger and often shipped to a site factory-mounted in the rack. As chassis get smaller, e.g., 1-2 Rack Unit (RU) sized chassis, it is inefficient to have multiple installation personnel on-site.
Smaller chassis have been known in the art, typically in datacenters. However, datacenter chassis are usually mounted on rails that allow single person installation. With Data and Telecom environment convergence, equipment is designed to work in both Telecom environments and Datacenter environments, so chassis must be mountable in racks that do not support mounting rails. As chassis get deeper and heavier, they can no longer be supported by one hand as the other hand screws in fasteners. Deeper and heavier chassis must be supported at the front and rear of a mounting rack because the center of gravity has moved too far from the front mounting flanges. In such a configuration, one installer must support the rear of the chassis while the front is fastened to the front uprights by another installer.
It would be advantageous to provide a network element chassis tool and method for a single person installation. It would further be advantageous to provide such tool to support variability associated with different rack types in the field.